Whilst shopping for some last minute bits for Ibiza I found myself in John Lewis. Despite the heat of Oxford Street and a desire for a nice salad I was confronted by some delicious looking images of burgers. Willpower at zero and frustration at being unable to find what I wanted (a laptop bag, honestly why are they so expensive and targeted for men?) I decided to try out Holy Ham Burger.
With only a few tables occupied it was easy to get a seat and peruse the menu. It was great to see a menu with different and imaginative burger offerings beyond cheese and bacon. That said I went for the simple signature Holyburger and a side of fries.
Now I must tell you I love burgers. And I don't just mean 'gourmet burgers', I even love those dirty ones you get from vans at local fairs and there's nothing that makes me happier on my way home from a night out than a bacon double cheeseburger from Burger King. When my my burger arrived from Ham Holy Burger for the first time ever I was disappointed with the arrival of a burger. What was put before me was a sad and grey looking burger, served in the overdone wooden boards. I love my burgers cooked medium but this just felt undercooked. Literally like it had been thrown in a fry pan for a few minutes. There was no browning of the meat, nor smokey grill taste. It was all in all pretty tasteless and felt like eating raw meat. The bun whilst not stale felt like it was moments away from being so and the fries were nothing special and overly salted. Please let us salt our own fries to personal taste.
Holy Ham Burgers has many similar reviews to my own on Tripadvisor and the like and its a shame as I think this is a great concept for John Lewis. Who doesn't like a burger yet I've made better burgers with produce from Waitrose at home. The restaurant itself had such a nicely designed industrial loft style space and a mixture of booths and tables to sit at but the food just fell flat.
The cost of my burger, fries and sparkling water was £16 so this wasn't a cheap meal by any means for a shopping pit stop. I'd rather walk five minutes down the road to
Patty & Bun and recommend you do the same.
Have you had any disappointing dining experiences recently?
Pin It Now!
Wow, up until the point you showed the photos of the burger it was looking good. I personally would have sent that back, I most certainly would not have paid for it. That does look under cooked, such a shame. You would really expect a lotbetter from John Lewis.
ReplyDeleteLove Gem x x
Gem'sCountryLifeDream
It was such a shame!! And I didn't think a burger would be so easy to get wrong!
DeleteAh that's a shame. I hate when the venue looks amazing but the food is rubbish! Really puts you in a mood :|
ReplyDeletewww.gingerbreadsmiles.co.uk
xox
It was certainly disappointing x
DeleteI was thinking it looked grey and raw - and then you said the same. You should've sent it back. x
ReplyDeleteI don't know why I didn't send it back to be honest!
DeleteI'm a veggie and know pretty much nothing about burgers, but that doesn't look great at all! Disappointing meals are the worst! x
ReplyDeleteOh no - what a shame. The decor is nice though!
ReplyDeleteThe decor saved it from being a complete disappointment
Delete